Various latching devices are commonly employed within a cargo compartment of an aircraft for securing a pallet which supports a cargo container so that the pallet and container are restrained from moving about the cargo compartment during flight. A typical aircraft cargo compartment also includes cargo guides for use during loading and unloading of pallets and containers within the cargo compartment for aligning the pallets with a predetermined point on the cargo deck.
Cargo handling systems usually include rollers along which the cargo containers can be rolled to position them for removal through a doorway of the cargo compartment. One disadvantage of current commercially available cargo guides is that they are relatively weak and nonresilient, and can relatively easily be broken by impact loads exerted on them by a moving pallet which supports a heavy container. A further disadvantage of existing cargo latching and guiding systems is that often there are no suitable cargo guides for aligning a pallet with the cargo compartment doorway, and so operators frequently employ the latches as cargo guides for aligning the pallet. However, the latches tend to be readily broken or worn because they are not designed to withstand the types of impact loads exerted on them by the moving pallets.